In the early days after the disappearance of the yacht Nostromo and its crew, the news was primarily carried on English and Finnish tabloids with awareness campaigns in social media. Jauhiainen and Jaubert made their first public appearance after the incident in a press conference arranged by Detained in Dubai in London despite alleged threats from the UAE government to stay silent.
Following a period without mention in the Gulf media, in mid-April the Western media reported the first reaction from the UAE, originating from an anonymous source close to the Dubai government. According to that source, Sheikha Latifa had been "brought back", was now "with her family", and "doing excellent". The source further claimed the incident had been a "private matter" that had been used to "tarnish the reputation of Dubai and Sheikh Mohammed," and said that three of those who had accompanied Sheikha Latifa were wanted in Dubai on previous charges. In May 2018, Human Rights Watch questioned Dubai's story, and asked Dubai authorities to reveal her location, adding: "[f]ailure to disclose the whereabouts and status of the princess could qualify as an enforced disappearance". Dubai authorities said that they could not comment on her case for legal reasons. The UN OHCHR Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance sought responses on allegations from the Governments of India and UAE.
Ad-Diyar, a mainstream Arab newspaper in Lebanon, published calls by Human Rights Watch raising the issue that Sheikha Latifa had been forcibly hidden. Support groups raised awareness of the campaign at the 2018 Kentucky Derby by flying a banner saying "DUBAI, WHERE IS PRINCESS LATIFA?".
The UAE-controlled media began reporting extensively about the social activities of her half-sister with the same name, who serves as Vice Chairman of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority. Many news outlets reported show jumper Sheikha Latifah bint Ahmed bin Juma Al Maktoum as missing, due to similarity in names.
The Indian government was widely criticised for its extrajudicial outreach, citing national interests and disregard of formal legal process. Indian media reported that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his advisers were directly involved in giving the orders for interception at the request of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and didn't seek any formal request from UAE. An Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson claimed that "[n]o such incident has been brought to our notice." Deputy Commandant Avinandan Mitra of the Indian Coast Guard, in response to media queries about this incident near the Indian coastline, said that "we have no such information or operation." Indian Intelligence agencies said they were trying to verify the claims but had no further comment. On 2 January 2019, Minister of State for External Affairs V. K. Singh denied any involvement of Indian Government in repatriation of emirati princess while replying to a question raised by member of parliament Saugata Roy. According to ThePrint, extradition of Christian Michel from UAE to India on 19 November 2018 was a direct result of Indian involvement in forced return of Sheikha Latifa as a quid pro quo.
Similarly, the Finnish government was criticised for not raising concerns about a human rights violation of one of their citizens to Indian authorities. A day later, the Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Timo Soini, responded, saying Finland had been in correspondence with UAE and Indian officials about the issue outside of media.
Amnesty International, on 4 September 2018, released a public statement appealing to the government of UAE to disclose the whereabouts of Sheikha Latifa and uphold its international legal obligations, while also calling upon the Indian government to investigate any role of its security forces and officials involved in the raid on Nostromo and unlawful excesses that may have been committed.
On 6 December 2018, the release of the BBC Two documentary Escape from Dubai: The Mystery of the Missing Princess elicited the first official response on the matter from the Dubai royal court in the form of a brief statement saying that Latifa was safe at home. The documentary covered the escape attempt that Sheikha Latifa had spent seven years planning and looked into her sister Shamsa's attempt to escape in 2000. In January 2019, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's wife, Princess Haya al-Hussein of Jordan, half-sister of King Abdullah II of Jordan, spoke in defense of Dubai's treatment of Sheikha Latifa. After news reports of Princess Haya's alleged separation with Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, human rights campaigners called on Princess Haya to speak out on her stepdaughter Latifa's fate in Dubai.
The matter was referred to the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions by Guernica 37, a London-based law firm representing Latifa and her two friends. Chairman-rapporteur, Bernard Duhaime of the UN's working group on enforced or involuntary disappearances wrote to Dubai's royal family requesting evidence that Latifa was alive and the grounds on which she was being held captive or else they would have to make a public statement.
In February 2021, a UN investigation determined that the princess was exchanged for British arms dealer Christian Michel, who was extradited from Dubai to Delhi to be tried for paying bribes.
On 24 December 2018, three low-resolution photographs taken on 15 December 2018, showing Sheikha Latifa alongside Mary Robinson, the former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and former president of the republic of Ireland, were released by UAE authorities. According to Mary Robinson, the meeting was arranged by one of the wives of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Princess Haya. Robinson described Latifa in a BBC Radio 4 interview as a "troubled young woman" who regretted making the earlier video in which she alleged abuse, and was receiving psychiatric care. The comments were criticised by various rights groups and Detained in Dubai's head Radha Stirling for reciting Dubai's official version of the events "almost verbatim". Human rights groups and associates of Sheikha Latifa questioned the nature of the brief visit, calling for independent investigation and assessment of her situation and disputing suggestions of any psychiatric problems and reiterating the possibility of her being held under captivity. Robinson later told the BBC that she had been "horribly tricked".
David Haigh and Marcus Essabri, Latifa's cousin, commenting on the released photos of Latifa, stated that Sheikha Latifa appeared to have been forcibly medicated while held in Dubai under orders of her father, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
In December 2019, a UK family court ruled that, on the balance of probabilities, Sheikh Mohammed orchestrated the abductions of Sheikha Latifa and Sheikha Shamsa and subjected Princess Haya to a campaign of "intimidation"; the findings were published in March 2020.
Latifa was held captive in a private villa in Dubai after her attempted escape from her family in February 2018. In April 2019, human rights lawyer and founder of Detained International David Haigh and Tiina Jauhiainen were able to covertly re-establish communication with her and began obtaining text and video messages from her. The communication abruptly ended on 21 July 2020 when Latifa stopped responding to messages.
In February 2021, the footage obtained by Haigh and Jauhiainen was used in Panorama, a BBC program that showed Latifa recounting how she had fought back against the soldiers taking her off the boat until she was tranquilized and carried onto a private jet which landed in Dubai. The United Nations human rights office asked the UAE to present proof that Princess Latifa was alive. On 9 April 2021, the organization said that the Emirates stated that Sheikha Latifa was being cared for by her family but failed to provide a "proof of life" for her. A spokesperson also said that the Emirates had in principle agreed to a meeting about Sheikha Latifa between senior United Nations officials and the Emirati ambassador in Geneva. On 21 April, independent United Nations advisers said in a statement that they were "alarmed" that the Emirates had not provided any concrete information, and that the statement by the Emirati authorities was not sufficient. The United States response to the statement, which said that freedom from arbitrary detention was a universal human right, was described in the New York Times as "muted".
On 28 April 2021, days before the Kentucky Derby in which Latifa's father Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum had a horse named Essential Quality who was considered a favorite to win, a group of human rights lawyers and students at the University of Louisville filed a complaint with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, asking for the Sheikh and Essential Quality to be barred from the Derby on the grounds of Sheikha Latifa's alleged situation. The Racing Commission announced on 29 April that as the complaint had not articulated a violation of its regulations, no sanctions would be put in place.
On 22 May 2021, a photo that appears to show Princess Latifa sitting with two other women in a Dubai shopping mall, the Mall of the Emirates, was posted online and shared on two public Instagram accounts. Although the image has not been verified, a friend of Latifa's confirmed that it is a photo of the princess. According to sources, the women who posted the photo were paid to do so. Some human rights activists asked the UK government to help.
In June 2021, pictures of Latifa at Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport were posted on Instagram by former Royal Navy member Sioned Taylor, who had also published photos showing Latifa in the Mall of the Emirates. She mentioned they were on a "Great European holiday with Latifa". David Haigh, co-founder of the Free Latifa campaign, stated that they were "pleased to see Latifa seemingly having a passport, travelling and enjoying an increasing degree of freedom", and confirmed that several campaign members had been contacted directly by the princess herself.
In July 2021, leaked data from the surveillance firm NSO Group Pegasus spyware revealed that a list of UAE-targeted phone numbers included numbers for Latifa and several of her close friends. Pegasus spyware allows full access, including GPS, to target phones, and may have helped to track Latifa's escape route.
A mobile device belonging to the British human rights lawyer representing Latifa, David Haigh, was also found to be compromised with Pegasus.
